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I’ve been devouring Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cook book at the moment. Jerusalem,The Holy City, fought over by nations and religious groups, a melting pot of culture, ethnicity, language, religion and cuisine. It seems to be a vibrant patchwork quilt of traditions. What a fascinating place it must be!

So I am inspired to use middle eastern flavours and traditional dishes. Today I had a friend for lunch. We had Fattoush, served with lightly pan-fried fish.

Fattoush is an Arabian salad, typically made with diced vegetables, yoghurt, spices and leftover pita bread (which soaks up the juices, similar to croutons). I wanted to avoid grains in our meal today, and so created a delicious alternative using toasted seeds in place of the bread. The result was crunchy, juicy and satisfying. The texture of the toasted seeds are a wonderful contrast to the juicy vegetables, and mop up the spicy yoghurt dressing more-than-adequately.

Place all diced vegetables and herbs in a bowl, apart from the baby lettuce.
In a separate bowl, combine the garlic, yoghurt, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar together to make a dressing.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables.
Add the spices and seeds, season with salt and pepper, and now stir to combine. Add the shredded lettuce and gently stir again to distribute evenly.

Crunchy and delicious, this granola is a perfect snack anytime of day! Serve with natural Greek yoghurt for a creamy and satisfying breakfast, or equally delicious, serve with almond milk and berries for a dairy-free option. I eat it straight from the jar.

Nut Jumble Granola is gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I try to keep things as natural, whole, and unprocessed as possible. Sadly, many supermarket cereals and muesli are packed full of sugar and additives. High levels of sugar, hidden in most packet foods, increase insulin resistance and body-fat storage. Additives and synthetic ingredients overwhelm the liver with its job – to detoxify your body.

Nuts, seeds and coconut are nutrient dense. They contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential to growth and repair. Not only that, but the mono- and poly-unsaturated fats are heart-healthy; working to manage inflammation and lower cholesterol. Coconut contains medium-chain triglycerides, which are absorbed and converted by the liver directly into energy to be used by the body, and so they are unlikely to be stored as body fat. As the experts are saying – you have to eat fat to burn fat!

Cacao powder has been used in this recipe. Cacao is labelled a superfood for its high levels of antioxidants, magnesium and iron. It makes Nut Jumble Granola chocolatey and decadent, however, if you are not such a sweet-tooth feel free to omit the cacao and/or honey. Try adding cinnamon or ginger to create something a little different.

– Preheat oven to 130 degrees Celsius, fanbake.
– Roughly chop all nuts and spread out on large baking tray. Melt oil and honey together and pour over the nuts. Add the cacao powder. Stir to coat evenly.
– Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Keep an eye on this process – there is nothing worse than burning a tray of expensive nuts!
– Remove from the oven and stir through the coconut flakes, seeds, and goji berries. Return to the oven for a final 5-10 minutes.
– Cool before storing in sterilised jars. Will keep for 2 – 3 weeks.

Emma xx

I am inspired by the Whole Pantry App’s Cinnamon and Cacao Granola. This a wonderful app with beautiful recipes – find out about it here. The Whole Pantry App